View of My Apartment with the TV Lounge
My father bought our first television in 1965 and we had our first refrigerator ( a FIAT)in 1964.But the radio ( PHILIPS) was always there since the late 50's
Eversince that technology age, i have seen many televisions ranging from black and white to color TV from 21 inch to 34 inch screens, phonograph player to mini compos to hi fi stereos to the most sophisticated home theatre machines.
But my best memory of home entertainment would have been the TV shows that i have watched and grew up with.
I remembered watching my earliest TV programs at my neighbour's residences, not because i was attracted to it but for a mere coincidence that i was there at that point of time.
My uncle had their television set in 1963 when it was first introduced but it was nothing significant as far as i can remember mainly due to the restriction of time that was imposed in watching it.
So what kind of programs did i grew up with ? Of course there were programs like Lassie, The Greatest Show On Earth, The Lucy Show, Sea Hunt and of course the familiar cartoon favorites like Popeye The Sailor Man, Casper the Friendly Ghost, Merrie Melodies and Bugs Bunny and Friends, The Little Rascals later on.
These shows were all seen in pure black and white and to see them activate in motion in that small 19 inch screen was like being inside the story too. It was as amusing as it can be. I would be sitting right in front of the box full of concentration and deep silence. Not having any younger siblings to accompany my viewing also means that you have to sit the night away in total darkness sometimes all alone. This is especially true when i was told that it is better to watch the tv in the dark as it simulates the local theatres atmosphere.
Later after i grew up, i was told by my relatives that watching TV in the dark can cause you blindness or shortsightedness. Wonder which one is actually true ?
The neighbours near my neighbourhood especially the Chinese, were ones of the first to buy over television sets for their homes,and when i had the opportunity to drop by at their houses, i entertained myself to such free viewing delights so much so that most of my childhood movie memories are also reminiscent of the old Chinese classics, like those opera singing types,domestic tear jerkers as well as some animal kingdom type novel genres which featured the likes of the monkey, the pig as well as the silly hero in the fabled celestial kingdom.
Our televison set was a 19 inch Denon Blue Diamond Screen made 100% in Japan. I guess in those days having a fully imported set was no big deal unlike today. But the difference now is that most Japanese products sold here are either made /assembled locally or entirely produced in China. I was told that our TV set was supposed to be a color TV generation model but it will not telecast any color pictures as we are not living in Japan.Hahahahahaha very interesting indeed ! I wonder how the channel tuner of our TV set could get spoiled easily due to the man (child) handling of the device. Looking back, i will be rolling on the floor laughing on how it could have been recklessly dealt with. The remote controls would have saved the day, i guess.
And there were so many finger prints on the screen too. No wonder my uncles forbid children to sit around their TV too close for our own comfort.
My favorite shows were definitely the children shows of cartoons and comedies, the ever hilarious and never boring stories about poking fun at those bullies and having dreams about being brave and strong, all those singing and rhyming sessions that begins sadly but ends well apparently.
I do find watching TV pleasantly entertaining but it was also the TV that deteriorates my academic performance i soon realised just as the personal computers and electronic games did to most youngsters nowadays.
At least computer games can be switched on and off as and when you are tired of it but when you are there watching the TV , you want to see it all through till the end.
There was no DVD's so that means there's no repeat telecast for you to remember and rewind them again. I realized that we all have to wait almost another 20 years for all these things to be shown all over again with the inventions of the Video tape player etc etc .
Another vernacular show that i was always fed with was the Indian movies, not Hindi but the pure Tamil types that will be shown in over 2 to 3 days in parts due to the length of the reel i suppose. The airtime slotted for such a show was also limited so much so that i have to watch it for over a month at least to see the ultimate story verdict. But i was not really engrossed in such mysteries as this were the initial viewing experiences i had at my neighbor's homes.
The worst ordeal was watching a Tamil movie with relatively no or with Chinese subtitles. How could i ever understood the dialogue, i wonder ????
As a child, it was left to my own creative imagination to figure out what the bloody movie was all about. I was only interested in their magical elements as to how the chariots could ascent into the clouds at a touch of a wand and how the baby was saved from the hungry tigers when there were no rescuers to shout for.
It must have been extremely amusing but it was all real to me. I love to be elevated into that realms of fantasy and extraordinary well being .
To be continued :
No comments:
Post a Comment